The purpose of the study was to provide a rating scale for the evaluation of children's fiction writing; to determine whether teachers could use the scale with valid and reliable results; and to determine whether inter-rater agreement among teachers could be increased by training in the use of the scale. The study also investigated the question as to whether inter-rater agreement is greater among teachers who use the scale without training than among teachers who do not use the scale. Further, the study investigated whether in-service teachers showed greater inter-rater agreement than pre-service teachers in using the scale. (The Literary Rating Scale is included.) (Author)